The Day The City Burned
by ThisUsernameIsIndecisive
Summary: Dylla is one of the fey children. She is cursed, like the rest of her race, to die young, a star that burns hot and bright. But before she goes out, she must complete the prophecy that her people's prophetess spewed out at her coming of age ceremony. It leads her towards a certain dwarven company, and Dylla must join them to face her past, and her lack of a future.


Disclaimer: I absolutely do NOT own the Hobbit. I only own the things that you do not recognize. Enjoy!

Chapter 1: The Daisy is a Curious Flower.

Dylla knew she was different from the other children. In fact, she took great pride in her heritage and culture, a culture spanning the ages, influencing every culture on Middle Earth behind the scenes. However, that pride did nothing to stop the sharp stings she felt when the other children mocked or avoided her.

Dylla had been hoping that the great city of Dale would be more tolerant towards people that did not look like them, they were nestled right next to Erebor, the rich dwarf kingdom. It was why she had agreed to visit Erebor and the great city of Dale with her mentor, Elfriede. Elfriede had desperately wanted to make trades with the high quality silk she had made, in the hopes that she could find a suitable courtship gift for her fated, Sasha. She had dragged Dylla along, for Dylla was very young, and as part of their mentorship, they could not be separated for long periods of time. This was in the hopes that they would learn from each other, and form a lasting bond.

Elfriede was everything Dylla could have wanted from a mentor. She had heard horror stories of young fey that had been partnered with older fey that had hated the burden of caring for one so young for so long. The mentorship process lasted 100 years, and Dylla had feared being thrust into such a partnership. Dylla had been greatly relieved to find Elfriede was a beautiful soul, caring and loving, and already older sister to the lonely child, only 35 years into their mentorship.

When Dylla and Elfriede had arrived at Dale, Elfriede had gone slightly mad from the need to trade her wares for her fated's final courtship gift, and Dylla had been able to slip away from her mentor, eager to explore the crowded marketplace, and hoping against hope that she would not be stared at. Dylla sighed as she realized eyes on her even now. _'They have seen dwarves before, surely I cannot be that different.' _But even as she thought it, Dylla knew she was.

Dylla looked like a ghost. She had long wisps of white hair that rested in a thick braid beaded with blue gems. Her skin was pale and almost translucent, even though she was outside every day. But it was her eyes that truly caused people to stare. Dylla's eyes were a shockingly pale silver that had people wondering if she was visually impaired. She had large doe eyes, framed by thick and long white lashes, which would have been pretty under any other circumstances. Her heart shaped face was accented by a button nose and pouting pink lips. Any beauty Dylla possessed was wasted however, because no one ever noticed it, too transfixed on how strange the rest of her looked.

Dylla sighed, and went to look at some wooden carvings. She froze in her tracks when a reverberating roar echoed throughout the city. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up, just in time to see fire burning towards them. Suddenly everything was chaos. Everyone was screaming, and everything was burning. Dylla panicked, as her small frame, so dwarfed be the humans, was pushed to the ground in the people of Dale's terror. Dylla felt her ribs crack as she was trampled.

"Dylla!" She heard someone scream, and she gained hope as she realized it was Elfriede.

"Dylla!" Elfriede screamed more desperately.

"Here!" Dylla screamed, praying that Elfriede could hear her. "I'm here!"

Dylla felt herself being yanked up, and then she was looking into the face of Elfriede, who was shock white and trembling. Looking around quickly, Dylla wished she was still on the ground, blind to anything other than the dark shadows of the fleeing people. Dylla felt herself become numb as she amassed the scene before her. It was a city on fire. Everything was ruined, and there were burning and charred bodies everywhere. Children were crying and people were running. Elfriede dragged Dylla towards the entrance to the city, tears streaming down her face, making trails in the layer of ash that covered her skin. Elfriede glanced behind them, and stopped in absolute terror. She opened her mouth and began to scream, staring at the building that was falling towards them. She began running, glancing backwards every few seconds, desperately pulling Dylla with her.

Suddenly there was a great crash and Dylla felt herself flying forwards. She landed hard in the ground, and there was a great weight on top of her. She couldn't breathe, her already broken ribs screamed in protest, along with the rest of her. She was trapped in a burning cage. Broken beams burned brightly, and there was smoke. So much smoke. Dylla coughed harshly, and tried to get up. She was stopped by the weight. Dylla craned her neck painfully upwards, and stared. '_no. no…nonnononononononnonononononoNONONONO!' _Her mind screamed at her as she stared at the broken and burning body that had shielded her from death. Elfriede's empty eyes looked ahead.

Dylla scrambled out from under her mentor's body desperately. This could not be real. She was simply hallucinating from the smoke. She needed to get out, and find the real Elfriede who would most assuredly be upset with her for wandering off. Dylla crawled through the burning beams, her ears buzzing with white noise, blocking any other sounds. A heavy beam collapsed on top of her, and yet she somehow got up. She could feel the pain of the fire that was licking her left side, but somehow it didn't matter. She was completely numb. '_I have to find Elfriede. Just find Elfriede.' _Her mind repeated the chant over and over.

Dylla worked her way out of the cage, and glanced around. She was staring at a ruin. She took a deep breath, and pushed the scene from her head. '_It's only a nightmare. Just keep walking. Find Elfriede,'_ Dylla's mind ordered. She complied, walked forwards, ignoring her injuries. They didn't even hurt anymore. She marched towards the open entrance of the city, shrapnel flying everywhere. A piece grazed her cheek, but she walked on. Her limbs felt like lead. The city was surprisingly quiet. There were no more screams. _'Elfriede will be upset that we came all this way and still couldn't find Sasha a gift.' _Dylla mused, as she stared at the burnt carts that had once overflowed with goods. As Dylla exited the city gate, once proud and tall, now only a blackened pile of rubble, she turned left, and kept walking. She didn't know where she was going, she only knew she needed to find Elfriede. Elfriede would make everything better.

She walked for what felt like forever and no time at all. When her beaten and broken body could simply not go any further, she stood, frozen. There was a daisy on the path in front of her. Elfriede loved daisies. She said that they could bring the sun's light to a sad day, the hope to a bad situation. Elfriede could always be found with a daisy in her golden curls, and she had confided to Dylla that she planned to use daisies in her bonding ceremony to Sasha. Starring down at the daisy now, however, Dylla could feel no hope at all. Collapsing into a pile next to the daisy, Dylla began to cry. Big, heaving sobs that ravaged her dry throat chilling the night air. Dylla shivered, and curled herself around the daisy that had now become a lifeline. Drifting off into the restless throes of sleep that only fever can bring, Dylla closed her eyes, tears making tracks down her sooty face. She would not be found for three days.


End file.
